A MiniReview
by truephan
Summary: Before PP. Skulker and Technus use a newer version of a stolen Fenton weapon to shrink all of Amity Park and trap Danny and his friends forever.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, here it is, time for another story. This story is a new twist on one of the old shows (I know you'll figure that out right away!) And, of course, I hope you like it. A little spoiler, though: If you haven't read my stories, "Bewerewulfed" or "Brace Yourself", you might be baffled by a few references; such as: Danny obtained his wulf claw powers in "Bewerewulfed" and his supersonic speed in "Brace Yourself". If you want to learn how, feel free to read those stories. But if not, that's OK….just ****pretend**** you read them, so when you are confused, have faith that the referred "facts" from my other stories are "true"! And remember, I like action, and light-hearted fun, so take a breather from reality and have….**

A Mini-Review

(Don't sweat the small stuff!)

Chapter 1

It's another typical day at Fenton Works, where Jack Fenton, Danny's father, is in the basement tidying up. He doesn't notice that he has accidentally activated the 'ghost portal' while cleaning. He continues scrubbing and yells toward the stairs, "Danny, hurry up or I'll be finish with the cleaning!"

Danny, who has just started to go downstairs, hears him, slows down, and smiles mischievously, thinking, _"And if I just take my time, he will be done and I'll just tell him that because he did it all, I had a good excuse for not helping!"_ But just as he smugly enjoys his decision, an ice-cold breath escapes his mouth. "Oh, no! More work!"

He concentrates and two bluish white rings obligingly envelop him, transforming him into his alter ego, Danny Phantom. He and his black and white suit instantly become invisible. He soars downstairs and grabs a Fenton thermos just as Technus, the mullet-haired ghost of all things scientific and technical, squeezes out of the newly activated 'ghost portal'.

Checking to see that his father is still engrossed in wiping some beakers, Danny heads directly toward Technus. But that distraction is enough for Danny not to see that Technus has grabbed a device and has already begun to turn to escape. Unluckily for Technus, however, Danny is too quick for him and making them both intangible, pushes him through the wall, and outside of Fenton Works.

Turning visible again and activating the Fenton thermos, Danny yells to Technus, "Kinda of a short trip this time, huh, Technus?"

Technus, while hiding the device, lies, "No fair! I hadn't had the chance to do anything!"

To which Danny replies, "Which is exactly the reason why I'm not going to give you the chance. I don't want you to get too big to handle!"

Technus, who has now been sucked into the thermos, thinks out loud; and with his voice muffled in the cramped space, mutters, "Too big to handle? Hmmm….great idea! He really has a future in public relations!"

Danny produces a small 'wulf claw, rips a small hole into the dimension, shoves the thermos part way in, and releases Technus back into the Ghost Zone. Danny smugly smiles, "These do come in handy when I can't get back to the portal."

Technus, now back in the Ghost Zone, wickedly smiles, "No matter. I won't let you get too big for your britches, er, hazmat suit, Ghost Child!" He immediately sets out toward Skulker's lair.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Later, at Skulker's lair, Technus and Skulker are talking over Technus' plan.

"And what do I get if I modify this device?" Skulker queries.

"A small part of the world!" Technus assures.

"Small?" Skulker objects. "But if your plan works, that's all anyone will get!"

Technus replies, "Exactly…But you'll be the biggest part of it?"

"Hmmm." Skulker mulls it over. "OK…but what about the Ghost Child? I will do it if you give him to me! I still have a sour taste in my mouth from his having escape from my perfect traps in my perfect island!"

"Sounds fair! Do what you want with him. He'd probably interfere anyhow. So, since you do the best hunting, it would be best for you to figure that part out." Technus answers as he hands the ghost hunter the device.

Skulker, thinking of a new plan concerning the young hybrid, silently says, "Hmm.. maybe, just maybe, I can get him and get **back** at him after all!" He immediately begins to modify the device.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Meanwhile, it is the next day, and Danny, Sam and Tucker have just arrived at school and are stopped at Danny's locker. Danny is exchanging his books for the next class, and the friends do not see Dash, who has his arms full of books and is coming toward them.

Just as Danny closes the door of his locker, Dash slams his books on top of Danny's head, causing Danny to drop his own books.

Dash sneers, "Thank goodness you're such a runt, Fen-**tiny**! I needed a place to rest my books!"

Danny responds sarcastically, "Oh, I see! All that knowledge is just too much for you to handle, right Dash?" 

Dash, pushing the books down harder on Danny, which results in Danny falling to his knees, retorts, "No, I can handle the football just fine!" He laughs as he pulls the books off and continues down the hallway.

Sam, helping Danny up, remarks, "Uh, your short fuse deserved that!"

Danny, fuming and picking up his books off the floor, answers, "I bet he wouldn't try that if I was any taller!"

"Well, I wouldn't hold my breath!" Tucker chimes in. "I haven't grown even a half millimeter for over a month! Maybe I'm doomed, too!"

Sam adds, answering each of her friends in order, "C'mon guys! Don't waste your breath over that 'mock-jock'! And, anyhow, why can't boys understand that height isn't everything?"

Tucker and Danny look at her in total disbelief, and then laugh at her as if she's kidding.

She frowns at them and they stop laughing and frown, too, but not because of her response, but because they do want to be taller. Danny, unsatisfied, continues, "Yeah, well, just once I'd like to be bigger than Dash and show him a thing or two!"

Just then, the bell rings and they head to Mr. Lancer's classroom.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to you reviewers.. I appreciate all feedback. And just because I'm celebrating that I got my computer back after two weeks of deprivation and fanfiction withdrawal, I'm updating early!! Here is Chapter 2. Enjoy! Oh, and I do not own any characters.**

A Mini-Review—Chapter 2

Danny, Sam and Tucker find their seats and wait for Mr. Lancer to begin.

"Now, class, we've been studying Beowulf for the past few weeks, and I think we need a little breather."

The class does not respond.

"So," he continues, unfazed, "We will shake it up a bit with a modern poet, Padu Tamkur."

Sam's eyes brighten, Danny fights off sleep, and Tucker immediately plays with his PDA, which is sandwiched between the pages of the poetry book.

The rest of the class's eyes glaze over as Mr. Lancer turns the page and utters, "Just feel the passion of this great man, a true genius of the goth psyche!" He then clears his throat and dramatically and loudly reads:

"I had it  
I had it not  
But what do you need  
Not to have forgot?"

Danny, groggily thinks, "I'd like to forget this!"

Sam raises her hand and enthusiastically remarks, "Mr. Lancer, do you think Tamkur was retching in anxiety over all the injustices in society when he wrote that piece?"

Mr. Lancer, looking bewildered at Sam's response, says, "Well, I never thought about that before, but that could be one interpretation, Miss Manson." And then spying Danny asleep, he yells, "Mr. Fenton!"

Danny jumps out of his seat. And Mr. Lancer puts him on the spot. "What do you think of Miss Manson's assessment?"

Danny, his head not fully cleared, stammers, "That we should forget about it?"

The class laughs and Sam fumes. Thankfully, the bell rings and the class, including Danny, Sam and Tucker, rush out.

Sam angrily says to Danny, "Danny! What was that all about?"

Danny apologizes, "Sorry, Sam! I was trying hard to pay attention and the last thing I remember before Lancer screamed at me was something about forgetting.

Tucker agrees. "Yeah, Sam, don't sweat the small stuff! Who cares about any dumb old poem, anyway?"

Sam tartly replies, "Well, of course some of us can't possibly be in tune with everything!"

Tucker, unfazed by her response, cheerfully adds, "Well, I'm very 'in tune' with my PDA and she's just fine, now that I finally upgraded her."

"She?" Her?" Sam observes. "That's a little creepy, Tucker. It's almost like she, I mean, **it** is your girlfriend or something!"

Tucker chuckles, still unfazed. "Don't be silly, Sam! Of course she's not my girlfriend!" He puts the PDA against his cheek and continues, "But she is special, which is why I worked so hard to upgrade her. That was especially challenging this time."

Bewildered, Sam asks, "Upgrading is supposed to be a challenge?"

He replies, "It is when you upgrade without an upgrade disc."

"You can do that?" Sam asks, now more interested in this part of their conversation.

Tucker smiles smugly, "Only if you know about the holes."

Suddenly, Danny's 'ghost sense' goes off. He looks around and seeing nothing, peers out the window. To his chagrin, he sees a ghost portal forming. He excitedly reports, "Guys! Speaking of 'holes', something is terribly wrong. One's forming right outside!"

"Huh?" Both Sam and Tucker exclaimed, forgetting what they were talking about.

All three friends dash outside of the school just as Technus and Skulker are exiting the new portal, compliments of Technus. They see that Skulker is holding a new, different colored, and therefore, unrecognizable Fenton Crammer. But Technus and Skulker do not see the friends or the surprise in the their faces.

"Is this place OK to try it out?" Technus asks Skulker.

He replies, "Human children are usually held against their will in that building at this time of day. Therefore, the Ghost Child should be in there. So, the answer is 'yes'!"

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Technus impatiently says.

But Danny, sensing the need for urgency, yells, "I'm going ghost!" And immediately transforms into Danny Phantom.

Standing at the front entrance of the school, Sam and Tucker watch him as he soars upward to do battle with Skulker and Technus.

When Technus sees Danny, he exclaims, "Wow! Right on cue! He's definitely got a future in human relations! Now, Skulker!"

Skulker does not hesitate to fire and Danny quickly counterattacks with his own signature hand rays. The rays collide, but the force of the impact is too much for Danny and he plummets toward the school. He crashes right in front of Sam and Tucker and, losing consciousness, reverts back into his human form.

Terrified, and instinctively racing to Danny's side, Sam screams, "Oh, no!" She looks up just as Skulker fires again. This time the beam engulfs her, Danny, Tucker and the entire school, shrinking them all into the size of ants.

Tucker, fascinated as he looks down and then up at the now very large and laughing ghosts, blurts out, "What a rush!"

Sam, her yell mixed with alarm and irritation, calls to Tucker. "Tucker! Help me with Danny! We have to get him to safety before those two goons do anything else to him!" Together, they carry him into the school, where all the panicking teens and teachers are running amok in the hallways.

Sam yells again, "Will you all just **stop?**!"

The crowd immediately halts, looks at her in utter amazement, and then continues in their havoc.

Sam and Tucker manage to weave through the ruckus and make their way into an empty classroom. Placing Danny gently down, they proceed to check him over. They notice the small head wound and Tucker worriedly asks Sam, "Do you think he'll be all right?"

Sam, slightly relieved, observes, "Well, he's still breathing."

Coming around and immediately holding his head Danny groans, "Ow!! That hurt!"

Sam asks, "Are you all right?"

Danny, sitting up, responds, "I think so. How did I get here?"

Before Sam and Tucker can answer him, the whole school begins to shake violently from Technus' rough handling. Everyone in the school screams.

Technus, maniacally laughs, "Now the whole world will be **mine**!" And then looking at Skulker's scowl, adds, "I mean, _**ours**__!_!!"

"But what about the Ghost Child? He's mine!" Skulker objects.

Technus, shaking the school violently again replies, "Well, he's got to be in there somewhere!"

Inside the school, Danny, Sam and Tucker and everyone else are being tossed about. His head clearing, and his anger mounting, Danny defiantly yells, "All right, that's enough!" And immediately he changes into Danny Phantom.

Sam sheepishly says, "Uh, Danny, there's something you should know!"

Danny agrees, "Yes, I know. I have to be extra careful of that ray gun."

Tucker chimes in, "No, dude, that wasn't just any ray gun and, uh, we're all kinda **short.**"

Danny testily replies, "Tucker, this is not the time to rub it in!"

Sam interrupts, "He means that Skulker shot another ray at us—all of us—after you got knocked out and now we're all the size of ants!"

Danny yells, "He must have the Fenton Crammer! Geez, couldn't he have been more original than that?" An idea strikes him. "Hey, then that means that Dash is short, too!"

Tucker reminds him, "Yes, but I have a feeling that we're still even shorter!"

"Well, this puts a damper on things." And then he jolts with the realization, "Uh-oh! And will eventually damper my ghost powers!"

"But then what are we going to do?" Tucker frets.

"Well, even if I'm short and my powers shorter, I can still take it out on those two jerks while they last!" Danny says, as he races out the nearest window and into the air. But suddenly, when he gets outside and sees the huge blades of grass, he groans, "I can't believe it! I'm even smaller than the last time I got zapped! Those two idiots must have done something different to the Crammer!"

And then just as suddenly, a large hand comes at him out of nowhere. Danny reacts quickly, grabs the hand, which belongs to Technus, and is surprised how easy it is to flip him. As Technus lands on his back, the school slips out of his other hand and falls to the ground, tossing the inhabitants all about. But Sam and Tucker recover quickly and immediately run outside of the school, hoping somehow to help Danny.

Meanwhile, Danny, charges at Technus, ectoplasmic rays blasting as he goes. Danny is again surprised that he is tiring normally. Then he chances a huge punch to Technus' nose, and is pleased that the wallop smarts Technus. He looks himself over and remarks, "I don't understand it! I don't feel any different!"

"I can fix that!" Technus announces, quickly swatting at and making contact with the gnat-like Danny. Danny yells as he is thrown to the ground. Shaken, but unharmed, Danny soars back up and answers Technus' whack with one of his own. Technus is down for the moment. Though slightly winded by his massive blow to Technus, Danny smiles with the revelation. He turns to Technus and taunts, "Too bad for you that your shrinking ray didn't affect my powers after all!"

Suddenly, Danny reels at the sound of another voice behind him. "It didn't? That may be a glitch I didn't think about when I modified that primitive weapon," Skulker boomed. "But this is no glitch!" He adds, raising his boot over the school, threatening to crush it underneath.

Danny gasps in horror as the boot draws closer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

____________________________________________________________________________


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh, and shame on me for not saying it sooner!! A big THANK YOU to Angelus-alvus who helped me edit/choose the summary for this story…I couldn't have done it without you, my friend! Also, thanks to pearl84 who graciously gave me some extra pointers. I hope my descriptions are better (I'm really trying). And, oh, I do not own any characters, so here is Chapter 3. Hope you enjoy it, even if it's the shortest chapter! If you like it, I will post Chapter 4 sooner. Enjoy!**

A Mini-Review—Chapter 3

Danny charges downward as Skulker's massive boot hovers over the miniature school. Sam and Tucker, fearful of the imminent crushing blow, yell and run away from the school. In desperation, Danny activates his ghost shield around the tiny large building and manages with all his might to move the school from harm. But not without a price. The effort zaps Danny of his strength, and losing consciousness, he changes back into Danny Fenton, and falls toward the earth. But his descent is incomplete. Skulker's mechanical hand reaches for him and closes around him. He has his prey!

Sam and Tucker, their eyes wide with alarm, have been watching the entire encounter. Seeing Danny captured, they gasp and instinctively run toward Skulker. Then spying a loose boot string, they grab onto it and hang on tightly, and, as Skulker walks back to Technus, scream with each swing.

Technus, finally standing up after Danny's assault, crows, "Now that you have the Ghost Boy, it's time to finish conquering the world!"

The ghost hunter whines, "But this was too easy! I didn't have much fun!"

Rubbing his still smarting nose, Technus retorts indignantly, "You should talk! But who cares, as long as he's out of our way!"

"A good hunter doesn't forget the hunt!" Skulker frowns defiantly, but then encouraged with a new thought, smugly adds, "But still, where he's going, there might still be a good hunt!"

Technus turns to him, confused, and asks, "What do you mean?"

Skulker smiles wickedly. "I'm putting him in a place where he may never escape unless he uses his most cunning skills!"

Technus, smacking and then holding and stretching his face with one hand, grumbles, "Oh, brother! Can't you ever be simple?"

Without answering, Skulker puts the Fenton Crammer on the ground while still holding onto the unconscious Danny Fenton. He opens a compartment in the gun and drops Danny in it.

Sam and Tucker, who have been watching and listening to everything that the ghosts were saying, drop from Skulker's boot and run over to the Fenton Crammer. Frantically, they scamper up it, each taking turns helping the other. They dash to the open compartment and, hiding behind its door, wait for their moment. But it looks as if that moment won't come, as Skulker reaches to close the compartment. Sam and Tucker gag their gasps.

But before Skulker's fingers touch the door, Technus asks, "What are you doing?"

With a self-satisfied evil grin, the ghost hunter answers, "I've especially designed this device with the Ghost Boy in mind. Not only did it succeed him making him putty in our hands—literally—but it will be his prison for all eternity!"

Sam and Tucker gag another gasp at the news, but Sam recovers instantly and pulling Tucker in with her, jumps into the compartment just as Skulker finishes closing the door.

Now, all three friends are trapped for all eternity.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N: Sorry the last chapter was a little short, but I think that it was a good idea to stop with suspense, don't you? I do not own any characters. Now, here is Chapter 4. Enjoy!**

A Mini-Review—Chapter 4

Sam and Tucker stare around at nothing but total darkness. Sam is the first to speak, her voice echoing eerily. "Tucker? Danny?"

A bright ball of green light answers her call and she screams, and then, glares at Danny.

Holding his head, Danny groggily responds, "Sorry, Sam. Have I been out all day? Where are we now? Are we still small?"

Tucker, who has come up to the light, looks at Danny and frets, "Worse. We're trapped. **Inside **the Fenton Crammer."

Danny yells when the news snaps him to attention, "What? Wait here, while I see what's going on!" Without saying another word, he wills the two bluish white rings and becomes his ghost alter ego. While his friends watch on and while keeping his ball of green light on, he charges upward, goes intangible, and heads right into the wall of the compartment they are in, only to be zapped at the boundary. He falls to the ground near Sam and Tucker, who help him up. He recharges the light emanating from one hand and rubs his head with the other.

Sam, frowning, chides him. "Skulker did say that he specifically designed the inside of this gun with you in mind."

Tucker adds with a whine,"Yeah, something about keeping you…" He gulps. "…and now **us** in this prison for all eternity!"

Danny sighs sarcastically, "Oh, is that all? And here I was worried about being short for the rest of my life!"

Planting her hands firmly on either side of her waist, Sam goads them, "C'mon, you two! We got to figure out how to get out of here!"

Danny, rubbing his head again, retorts, "Like I didn't just try?"

She grabs him at the shoulders, and pulling him up to her squarely—while avoiding the green light—she firmly says, "Think! Skulker's always hunting you, right? How else would he design this trap 'with you in mind'?"

Danny, his eyes brightening as he suddenly 'gets it', utters, "Of course! He would set booby traps everywhere. Maybe even in some type of maze. There has to be a way out, but not without lots of danger in between!"

Tucker moans, "And **I**** was** worried about not getting any taller!"

The friends proceed to inspect the area they are in. It is a rather large compartment—at least compared to their size. The walls, ceiling and floor are all black and there is nothing in it as far as they can see. Danny enlarges the size of his ball of energy to give them a wider view. Then, unexpectedly, the entire compartment starts to shake violently.

"What's happening?" Sam yells, as she and her friends sway and stumble uncontrollably.

"We, I mean, the Fenton Crammer, must be getting carried!" Danny answers, losing his balance. "Quick! Grab hold of me!" He commands. Sam and Tucker do not hesitate and cling to him, and he immediately creates a ball of energy that completely envelops them, buffering their jolts.

After several long minutes of rough treatment, the ball comes to a rest.

"Is everyone okay?" Danny checks, dispelling the ball's energy.

"Yeah, I think so." Sam answers, straightening her skirt.

"Now I know how a hamster feels in one of those little walking balls!" Tucker moans while fixing his beret and glasses.

Danny smiles. "Well, let's keep going then. I'm sure that it won't be the last time we'll experience that!"

They continue to search the area, with Danny again enlarging his light energy to get a wider view. Seeing more blackness doesn't help.

"Hey!" Tucker yells, and pointing to some direction in the darkness, adds, "I think there may be some doors over there! I got a glimpse of them when you made the light bigger."

They head toward that vague direction with Danny and his light leading the way. Finally, they come upon three black doors, next to each other in a small semi-circle. Danny tries the first one, while Sam and Tucker check the other two. They are all locked.

"Of course!" Danny sighs. He turns intangible and tries to pass his hand through, but each door in turn refuses him entry. Then he has an idea. "Stand back, guys!"

Sam and Tucker scramble to get out of the way. Danny shoots the first door with a blast of his ectoplasmic energy. The door vibrates and the ray ricochets off, almost hitting Tucker—who, of course, yells- but the door remains locked. He hits the second door in the same way. But this time, the door momentarily absorbs the rays, but then refracts them back out a second later, almost hitting Tucker again—who, of course, yells, again. And like the first, the second door remains locked.

Sighing again, Danny shoots the third door and the ray is neither refracted nor absorbed. Instead, Danny's ray splays outward, much like a flame against a fireproof shield. But the door stays locked.

"Let me try!" Tucker volunteers, and he immediately starts punching on his miniature PDA.

In the meantime, Sam has been looking more closely at each door. "Hey!" She announces. "There's a small hole about halfway up on all the doors!"

"Good work, Sam!" Danny says, pleased. "But what does it mean?"

Getting a little frustrated because he cannot figure out how to help, Tucker speaks, not to Sam or Danny, but to his PDA. "I don't understand it! Shrinking you didn't seem to hurt you one bit. You should have enough power, even if you battery is tinier."

Danny's eyes again brighten, but this time with a wild idea. "That's it!" He cries. "I've been using too much energy! Thanks, Tucker, you're terrific!"

Tucker smiles and watches on.

Danny shoots a small beam from one of his fingers at the small hole in the first door. The ray ricochets off at an angle toward the second door, misses its hole, and gets absorbed. A second later, it refracts out and skims over the third door. All three doors remain firm.

"Darn it! I wish I had paid more attention in geometry!" Danny says, exasperated. He tries again, experimenting with the angle of entry. The first door ricochets the beam and then it enters the hole of the second door. But this time, the ray does not refract out of the second door. The third door remains silent and secure.

"I don't get it!" Danny sighs, his face clearly showing his mounting frustration. "Maybe I need to start at the other side."

"I don't know," Sam, her brow furrowed in thought, observes. "There seems to be some kind of pattern."

"Yeah!" Tucker excitedly agrees, punching at and looking over his PDA. "According to my calculations, the angles of the beams are the same going in **and out** of the second door, but not the third."

"How did you expect for me to know that when we haven't studied physics yet?" Danny groans.

"Well, if you can adjust the degree of the angle of your shot just a little, then the angles of the beam going in and out of all three doors will be the same. You need to know geometry to do that!"

"OK, if you say so, and I hope what attention I did give in geometry pays off!" He tries again, this time closing one eye and concentrating on his aim. This shot ricochets off the hole of the first door, is absorbed into the hole of the second door, and a second later refracts out toward the third door. All three anxiously track the beam as it hits the hole of the third door, ricochets perfectly and activates a hidden switch a short way from the doors. A click is heard and all three doors obediently and quickly swing open.

"Why couldn't we have just pressed the switch?" Sam sighs.

"You know Skulker. That would have been too easy," Danny answers.

"Now what?" Tucker asks, shrugging.

"My bet is to go through the third door. It is the only one that didn't do anything when you first blasted them all," Sam volunteers.

"I'm not sure," Danny chimes in. "What was Skulker thinking?"

"Thinking of keeping you in here forever!" Tucker moans, and pointing to the second door, he adds, "I'd say we go into the second one. It did some real cool phasing stuff, and I want to see how that beam got refracted."

"No!" Sam objects. "The third one was the least exciting one. So even if getting out of this part of the maze is boring, I'd rather go that way."

Danny scratches his head, shrugs, and says, "No votes for the first? Well, each of our guesses is as good as any. I say we look at all three."

They step toward the first door and Danny illuminates it. They can see nothing. They inspect the second one, and again, frown at seeing nothing. Finally, they peer through the third one, and once again, Danny's light beam is absorbed into nothingness. But this doorway is different. They **hear **something, while the other entrances had been completely silent.

"Now what?" Tucker frets.

Sam crosses her arms and answers, "The third one."

This time, Danny agrees and they all head toward the third one. Stepping over the threshold, they all find themselves falling down a narrow shaft, in total darkness, headfirst.

"We've should have taken the middle one!" Tucker yells as they descend.

The fall seems to take forever, and though Danny manages to find and grab his friends, he cannot slow their descent.

"I don't know what's wrong!" He yells, trying hard to stop their downward spiral. "It's like we're being suck down, like in a vacuum!"

"Danny, use your wulf claws!" Sam commands.

While still clinging to his friends with one hand, he wills his claws to materialize on the other hand, and digs into the wall near them. Sparks fly and a sickening screeching sound echoes, but the effort finally brings their fall to a halt. But the vacuum continues to pull at them, their hair and clothes tugging at them with the force of a hurricane—in reverse.

"Now what?" Tucker laments.

"Will you stop saying that!" Sam hisses.

Thinking quickly, Danny commands, "Hold onto my waist, guys!"

They do not question him and obey. This time, he wills his full set of claws and with great effort, manages to tear a hole into the wall. After a little more struggle, he successfully pulls himself and his friends into the hole. They sigh in relief, as Danny illuminates their temporary haven.

Sam then says, "Do you think you can rip a hole in the dimension?"

Danny tries, but it fizzles. "Looks like Skulker has that covered, too."

"Now what?" Tucker moans. Both of his friends scowl at him. "Sorry. Old habit." He sheepishly replies.

Suddenly, the vacuum sounds stop.

"Now what?" Sam utters, and then shrugs with an embarrassed grin when both Danny and Tucker look at her.

"I'll go check it out," Danny announces and keeping his light burning, flies out of the hole and proceeds downward. He glides slowly and cautiously, making sure he hugs the wall, just in case he needs another quick retreat.

When he hits the bottom—well sort of a bottom, because it has a big hole in the middle of it—he sees another door.

"Oh, great!" He utters, and soars back to Sam and Tucker.

"What did you find out?" Sam asks.

Danny replies, "Well, the bottom is very close to where we are, but there's another door."

"At least it's only one," Tucker says, trying to sound encouraging.

"Do we have any other choice?" Sam asks.

"We could still go try the second door up there!" Tucker volunteers.

"I don't think so, Tuck. I think this must be the way," Danny surmises.

"You would say that, huh?" His friend mutters.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Sam begs the question.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N : Thanks for the reviews. I like!! Oh, and I do not own the characters. Here is Chapter 5….Enjoy!!!**

A Mini-Review—Chapter 5

Hovering just outside the makeshift opening in the wall, Danny, who needs one of his hands to light the way, reaches out to Tucker with the other. Tucker scoots closer to the opening and after throwing his feet outside the hole, grabs Danny's outstretched hand. Locking their hands securely, Tucker throws himself over the ledge, a familiar thrill running up his spine as he hangs in mid-air.

"OK, Sam, your turn," Tucker utters, reaching out to her.

She moves much more boldly than Tucker and crouching just like a skydiver who is about to exit her plane, moves confidently out of the hole, so trusting of her friends that she practically leaps into Tucker.

"Gee, Sam!" Tucker yells as their arms snap together. "Since when have you been so daring?"

"Oh, c'mon, Tucker! You should talk!! You love all those crazy rides at the pier."

Danny, amused by their banter, chuckles softly, "OK, guys, shouldn't we concentrate on getting to that door?"

Jolted back to reality, Sam and Tucker grow more serious as they and Danny float downward.

And as they near the bottom, the teens can feel each other's uneasiness. Before they realize it, they all stand silently gawking at the door, momentarily uncertain on how to puzzle it out.

The first to finally think of something, Tucker, whose voice echoes through the hole at the bottom, suggests, "Do you think you could try blasting it again?"

"Somehow, I doubt it. Even Skulker isn't that stupid!" Danny echoes back.

Suddenly Sam hisses, "What's that noise?"

They all freeze and strain to listen. They notice a small, echoing sound, so faint that it is hard to locate from where the sound is coming.

Danny guesses first. "It sounds like dripping water."

"And it's running down the door!" Sam adds, accidentally spraying water onto Tucker after at last deciding to try the locked doorknob.

"Hey!" He objects, and then shivers. "Brrr, that's cold. And there's a draft in here. Must be coming from that hole!" He concludes, pointing to it.

"Cold!" Danny chimes in, his word sounding like a chill. "That's it! Tucker, you're a genius!"

"Glad someone finally appreciates a sharp mind!" Tucker answers with a smug smile.

"Ok, guys, go around to the other end of the hole. I don't know what effects this will have on the door," Danny instructs.

His friends scramble to the other side and in the dim light can barely make out what Danny is doing.

Danny concentrates and focuses his eyes on the door. Blue ice rays shoot out from them, freezing the entire door. He then projects ice spikes from the hand not lighting the area, which penetrate the door. His plan works! The hard ice spikes shatter the frozen door.

Danny flies over to his friends, grabs them and lighting the way, enters the blacken hallway.

"Well, so far this hasn't been too dangerous," Tucker utters, smiling in relief.

Suddenly, there is a loud, frightening whooshing sound, followed by a soft wind blowing against them.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?" Sam scowls.

They scan ahead and see that the darken hallway is glowing eerily. At first, the purple light is dim and pulsating. But with each pulse, the light grows brighter, followed by an even louder whooshing sound.

Danny gently lets Sam and Tucker slide to the floor. "Stay here!" He commands and turning both invisible and intangible, he slowly scouts ahead.

Though he does not now need his own orb of light because of the pulsating light, he cannot see what is creating the eerie glow, but he has a clue when his icy breath suddenly appears, putting him on high alert. He cautiously continues to fly toward the light, noticing that the wind, but not the sound, is getting stronger. Finally, he cannot take the suspense any longer, he rematerializes and challenges, "All right, enough! Come out and show yourself!"

Suddenly, the loud, whooshing sound rages loudly, and its force repels the teen, but he pushes ahead against the impact, his hair plastered back against his head from the mounting wind. After fighting for a few more feet, the boy can finally see the creature causing all of the commotion. It is something Danny has not seen before. A huge purple blob with two large pulsating red eyes jetting out of it, the monster looks like a giant leech. Its mouth, undulating with each breath, takes up most of its body and has jutting, razor-sharp, swampy teeth around its entire circumference.

At the sight of it, Danny thinks, _'Ugh! Getting **repelled **by it is much more appealing now!'_

All of the sudden, however, the light emanating from the creature glows more brightly and the wind shifts. Instead of being pushed away, Danny's rate of movement now slows and then he finds himself being pulled **toward** the creature.

_'Oh, no,'_ Danny thinks. '_This must be what was doing all the sucking in the last compartment!'_ He struggles to tear from the force, but his battle is quickly waning. At this rate, he knows he will be crashing into the creature, or should he say, into the creature's mouth! Suddenly, he hears screaming in front of him and before he can react, Sam and Tucker collide into him, victims of the vacuum as well. Their out-of-control mass pummels even more quickly to the awaiting, pumping orifice.

Desperate because now all three of them are in mortal danger, Danny struggles to gain control. The only thing he is glad of is that the creature's light still lets him see everything. He grabs Tucker by the arm and yells, "Tucker, grab onto Sam and hold on!"

Tucker reacts immediately and soon they form a stretched-out line.

The young hybrid tries with all his might to fly to the nearest wall. But they are still being pulled in. Then he concentrates and musters his inner strength and finally, begins to gain headway. Finally, the wall is near enough and he produces his claws out of his free hand. He thrusts the claws into the wall, anchoring them firmly. But his grip on Tucker and Sam is slipping. He must act quickly. He takes in a large breath and in a last great effort, yanks his friends and slams them against the wall and out of the line of fire as he bellows his 'ghostly wail' toward the monster. In the din, he doesn't hear Tucker and Sam scream. The creature is no match for the onslaught and it is quickly splattered against the opposing wall.

His energy spent, Danny loses power and everyone plummets to the ground in total darkness.

A few moments later, Danny who is slowly regaining his senses, calls out anxiously in the pitch-blackness, "Are you guys all right?"

"If you mean does my head feel like a bowling bowl after it has hit all ten pins at once, then, yes, I feel all right." Tucker groans, rubbing his head. He does not see Danny smile in relief.

But then Danny gasps and yells, "Sam?" She doesn't answer. "Sam!" He cries again, his breathing quickening with fear.

"I'm here!" She calls back, her voice faint, as it is obvious that she quite a bit of distance from where Danny and Tucker are.

"How did you get way over there?" Tucker yells toward her side of the utter darkness.

"Hello? The 'ghostly wail'? I lost my grip and was caught up in it, and unfortunately, my fall was cushioned by all the slime of what was left from that sucking thing."

"Hey!" Danny excitedly says, "I'm already beginning to feel my powers coming back! Either I **am **stronger or I'm getting use to my 'ghostly wail'! As soon as I get them back, I'll get you," He promises.

"Don't hurry," She yells back. "I might need a week to dry off or else I'm sure everything that touches me right now will ooze right off of me."

Not a moment later, Danny is strong enough to transform back into his ghost form, and he immediately wills his hand to emit the light energy.

"Man! I forget how intense that beam can be," Tucker utters, shielding his eyes. But he then blurts out, "Yikes" when Danny whooshes him upward in response.

Danny quickly sheds more light, searching for Sam. Finally, he spies a very unhappy Sam obviously encased in ultra purple ghost goo.

Both he and Tucker can't help but snicker when she gags, "Yech! I will never be able to eat jello again!"

Danny lets Tucker down to the floor and floats over to Sam. He grabs one of her arms and tries to pull her out of the thick goo. It emits an icky slurping sound at his attempt, but Sam does not budge. Realizing he needs more effort, he douses his light and grabs both of her hands to pull her out. Both he and Sam groan with the effort. Finally, she pops out, covered with goo, and the momentum of the pull throws her into his arms.

"Uh, thanks, Danny," She softly says, knowing but not seeing how close their lips are and that they are both blushing.

"Uh, you're welcome, Sam," He chuckles nervously, knowing her thoughts. Then he concentrates and makes both of them intangible and the goo falls off of them. He lets go of one of her arms, recharges his light, and flies over to Tucker.

Suddenly, the entire hallway begins to shake violently.

"Here we go again!" Tucker wails, as he and his friends are tossed around like ping pong balls.

"Let's try to huddle again," Danny yells. But suddenly, in addition to the violent tremble, a piercing scream reverberates throughout the entire tomb they are in.

"What is that?" Tucker shouts above the vibration and clamor.

"I think the Fenton Crammer is charging up and about to fire!" Danny yells back, and the noise becomes so intense and painful, the friends instinctively cover their ears, even as they sway precariously. And as if he commanded it, the Fenton Crammer screeches and shudders violently just as it produces a powerful ray at the hand of Skulker.

Knowing that they cannot take this much buffeting much longer, Danny quickly grabs his friends and flies straight--which really wasn't all that straight-- right into the ghost goo.

"Please don't tell me you did that on purpose!" Sam yells.

He winces, "Well, yeah, kinda!"

"I get it!" Tucker chimes in, "The goo is stuck fast and will act like glue, keeping us secure until Skulker puts us, uh, I mean, the gun down!"

They cover their ears again and settle in for the duration.

After what seem hours, the screeching stops, but not the vibration. The trio jiggles with each jolt. Finally, that, too, ends and it is finally safe to try to free themselves, that is, they all de-goo themselves, compliments of Danny's intangibility power.

"Now I won't be able to eat jello ever again, either!" Tucker laments.

Smirking at his friend's comment, Danny produces a light ray again, turns, and leads the way. At the end of the hallway, they find another door.

"Just how **did** Skulker make all of these tiny doors?" Tucker whines.

"Probably shrunk them like everything else in here, " Sam dryly answers.

They move closer to the door and hesitate, looking for clues. They are again uncertain of what to do next.

"Now what?" Danny blurts out.

"See? That is the best thing to say!" Tucker triumphantly adds.

"Oh, please!" Sam says, irritated, and impulsively goes to the door and turns the knob. To each of the friends' disbelief it is unlocked! Stunned, she lets go of the knob and turns to the boys.

"I don't like this," Danny groans.

"Do we have a choice?" Sam insists.

"We can always go back," Tucker suggests.

"To where?" Danny counters. "At least, there are some signs here that we're supposed to go this way, maybe."

"Well, we could argue about this all day and we're still not getting anywhere, " Sam impatiently replies.

"Sam's right. Let's get going. We'll deal with whatever we have to deal with when it's time to deal with it…." And realizing the absurdity of what he just said, he grins sheepishly and adds, "…er, or something like that."

He slowly turns the knob and opens the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Of course, I do not own any characters…Now a PM to Nicktoons Squad: I liked your idea...How did I do?...** **Here is Chapter 6. Enjoy!**

A Mini-Review—Chapter 6

The door creaks open and with the light from Danny's hand, the trio sees a narrow black vertical passageway with a very tall black ladder heading straight up. Two of them could be side-by-side when on the ladder, but the width from the ladder to the opposite wall is just a foot or two wider than half of their own height.

Scanning upward, Tucker frowns a little and observes, "Well, it could have been worse. This passageway could have been long instead of tall and it could have had a train charging right out of it at us."

Sam and Danny look inscrutably at Tucker.

Seeing their reaction, Tucker jolts his head and objects, "What? It could happen!"

"Uh, you sounded like my dad just now!" Danny utters, looking a little creeped out.

"Yeah, and besides that, just how would have Skulker gotten a train in here?" Sam deadpans.

This time the boys look inscrutably at Sam.

"What?" She objects, seeing their reaction.

"Never mind!" Both of the boys chime together.

Then, looking back up at the towering ladder, Tucker exclaims, "Hey, there's some extra light in here!"

"Yeah, instead of being black, it's grayish-black!" Sam dryly replies.

"Then you should be happy with all the multi-colored blackness, Sam," Tucker smirks. She scowls in response.

Danny chimes in, "C'mon, guys! At least I won't have to use so much energy lighting the way. Besides,…" He chuckles, "…this part of the maze doesn't look that hard." With that comment, he tones down the charge of his light beam, grabs Sam's hand with his other hand, and she in turn grabs Tucker's hand, and they soar upward in tandem.

Everything seems to go smoothly until they are nearing the top. Looking up ahead, Danny exclaims, "Hey! I can see another door! And there's some light coming out from under it. That must be why it wasn't so dark in here!"

But suddenly, a full arsenal of glowing red darts showers the area. "Uh-oh! Darts!" Danny blurts out.

"Where?" Sam asks, straining to see them, but only sees faint, red blurs.

Danny instinctively tries to both dodge and keep his friends safe from the darts. But what he doesn't realize--until it is too late-- is that the darts had been meant for only **him.**

"Ow!" He yells in pain as a dart makes contact and burns as it burrows under his skin. He tries to speed their ascent to get out of the spray of darts, but he quickly grows unbalanced. "Guys," He moans. "I don't feel so good!"

That was his last utterance before the light from his hand fades and he begins a downward spiral as he reverts back to Danny Fenton. Fortunately, the passageway was narrow and they had been hugging the ladder. Sam quickly grabs a ladder rung as she slides downward. She screams, "Quick, Tucker, grab the ladder and grab Danny!" 

Tucker reflexively reacts, grabs the ladder rung and then snatches the unconscious shadow that passes him (which, of course, is Danny), instantly yelling in pain as the weight of his friend and his own weight pull at his shoulder sockets.

Sam, who is just a few feet above them encourages, "Hang on, Tucker! I'm coming down as fast as I can!"

She carefully inches downward, barely making out the shadows of Tucker and Danny below her. Then, unexpectedly, she knows right away that she has gotten to them.

"Ow! That's my hand!" Tucker objects, not daring to shake the pain out of his hand.

"Sorry, Tucker! I can't see a thing! Well, not really, just shadows."

"Which is a good thing, too! The way I feel right now, it's good that I can't see the bottom!" Tucker moans.

"Here, let me help!" She offers, as she gropes in the murkiness.

"Hey! That's my face!" Tucker again objects as Sam's hand lands squarely on him.

"Sorry, again!" She answers, cringing.

"Can you hurry up, Sam?" Tucker groans. "I never wanted to know how it felt to be a rubber band!"

Gradually, Sam is able to inch downward and get to Tucker's side. She then struggles to reach Tucker's lower arm, the one holding Danny. But she is unsuccessful and laments, "I can't reach anymore!"

"And I can't stretch anymore!" Tucker yells, his breathing becoming harder as he strains to hang onto both the ladder and his friend.

Then a wild idea hits her. "Tucker! I think our feet will reach the wall that's just opposite of the ladder! Maybe if we can wedge ourselves against it and the ladder, we can support Danny's weight better!"

"What, are you crazy?" He objects.

"Do you have any other crazy ideas?" She counters.

He hears the clunk of her boots as she swings her legs toward the wall just opposite the ladder and makes contact. Facing upward, she securely wedges her body between the wall and the ladder as if she were playing "crab soccer" in the air. Then she says, "If you can do the same, we might be able to drape Danny over us until we can figure out what to do next."

Tucker musters all his strength, twists his body around tightly and swings his legs outward toward the wall, screaming in pain and panic as his feet and Danny slip.

Sam, who can only see Tucker's wildly jerking shadow, yells, "Are you all right?"

She only hears his heavy panting in response and panics. "Tucker!"

"Will you be quiet?!" He demands, and not a moment—and a Tucker loud groan—later, she feels part of the weight of Danny's unconscious body on top of her, as Tucker is successful in getting Danny cradled between the both of them.

"Man, he's got to stop getting the large order of fries at the _Nasty Burger_!" Tucker pants, finally able to catch his breath.

Smiling and speaking uncharacteristically softly, Sam says, "Thanks for everything, Tucker. You're terrific!"

She doesn't see his embarrassed smile.

Then shaking Danny gently but firmly, she calls to him, "Danny! Danny! Wake up!" But her friend does not stir.

Then Tucker moans, "Now what?" This time, however, she doesn't scold him. And she doesn't answer him right away.

Finally, she murmurs. "At least Danny's still breathing."

"And it won't be for much longer for all of us the way it's going so far! Just how long do you think we can hold out like this?" Tucker wails.

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out," She replies, trying to sound encouraging. And then cupping her chin in her hand in thought, she adds, "Well, one thing's for sure. We can't go up because of all those darts."

"Go up?" Tucker retorts. "We can't move!"

Suddenly, Sam's face brightens in the utter darkness. "Tucker! Does Danny have a belt on?"

"That's how I caught him, why?"

"Hold on!" She commands and struggles to push Danny part way off of her and more onto Tucker.

"What are you doing?" He grunts, and slides down slightly under Danny's added weight.

She doesn't answer him, but then he hears Sam's own grunting, intermixed with the sound of tearing.

"Sam, what's going on?" He frets, straining to see her silhouette.

"Let's just say that I'm glad you can't see what I'm doing."

Satisfied with the results of her idea, Sam says, "OK. Could you help me pull Danny back on top of me?"

"With pleasure!" Tucker agrees, and he helps her with the task.

Sam again checks the length and strength of one of the leggings of her purple stockings, and deciding that it may do the trick, gropes for Danny's belt. Locating it, she loops the stocking around it and secures a knot in it. She checks both the strength of the stocking knot and the belt. Agreeing with the results and thinking it might work, she nods her head slightly in self-satisfaction and utters, "OK, Tucker. I have one more favor to ask of you." 

"If it means getting out of this, Anything!"

"I've managed to fasten a piece of my stocking around Danny's belt. I think it's long enough for you to loop it over your shoulders, like a backpack, well, a one-strap backpack anyway. That way, your back will be supporting Danny's weight and it will be easier to lower yourself and Danny down the ladder. And, I'll go down a little lower from both of you and try to help steady him by holding onto the belt."

"That's what you say!" Tucker cries, now worried about this plan.

"Do you have any other bright ideas?" She counters.

"No, but we better go do it now if we're going to do it!"

"OK. When you're ready, push Danny onto me, get back on the ladder, reach for the loop…and pray!"

Tucker takes a breath, and pushes Danny off, and cringes when he hears Sam groan under Danny's entire weight. He quickly gets back on the ladder and yells to Sam's shadow, "I'm reaching!" He gropes wildly and finally manages to find the loop. He inches slowly downward a few rungs in order to get in the right position to swing the loop around his shoulders. Once he has the stocking secured on his back, he gulps and says, "I'm ready!"

"OK, I'm going to try to ease him down," Sam replies. She grabs Danny by his belt and struggles with the effort to pull him off of her.

Danny's full weight nearly yanks Tucker off the ladder. "Eeeh-yow!" Tucker squeals.

"Tucker, are you all right?!" Sam anxiously asks, having already gotten herself back on the ladder and moving down toward Tucker.

"I'll never complain about lugging all those grocery bags in for my mom again!" He announces.

"You're amazing!" Sam smirks, relieved.

"Thanks, Sam," He replies with a weak smile.

Now that she is slightly lower to Tucker again and that she has managed to grab onto Danny's belt, she says, "OK. I think I'm in position."

Tucker adds, "Well, then, here goes nothing!" He slowly and painfully eases himself down one rung at a time. The laborious descent causes Danny's body to sway precariously, even with Sam's efforts to control it.

"Slow down, Tucker!" She finally demands. "I'm having a hard time holding onto Danny!"

"What do you think I'm doing?! This isn't exactly a piece of cake! Suddenly, his face brightens at the thought. "And speaking of that, I'll be able to eat a whole truckload of them after all of this!"

They have only been able to progress down three rungs when Tucker feels a shift on his back and a terrifying sound in his ears. He screams, "Oh, no! The rope, I mean, stocking, is tearing!"

Tucker is helpless to act and even though Sam fights with all her might, the weight pulling at the belt is too much, and the belt snaps out of her hand.

"NO!" She shrieks into the darkness, as Danny falls.

**A/N: Until next Friday, then, see ya!! truephan**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I still do not own any characters, and since I never will, from now on and until the end of this story, I will now utter, "Ditto" and y'all will know that I mean " I do not own any characters". Will that make everyone happy? It will me!... How do you like the story so far? Well, just in case, here is Chapter 7. Enjoy!**

A Mini-Review—Chapter 7

'_What? I'm falling?'_ The words drill through his spinning head, riveting his senses to high alert. Instantly, his will screams for the two bluish rings to encircle his body. His fall is cut short. (What Tucker had not known was that it was Danny's stirring that had caused the stocking to rip.)

'_Sam! Tucker!'_ is the young ghost's next thought. Snapping to remember what had happened, he gasps, recharges his light beam, and frantically flies downward. His heart pounding in fear, he sees the bottom nearing. When the teen reaches it, he breathes a sigh of relief at not seeing them where he hoped he would not be seeing them. The boy then turns and heads upward, as he asks himself, _'But, then, where are they?'_

Tucker, in shock, and still straining to look in the direction that his best friend has fallen, blinks in disbelief. "Sam!" he yells, but all he hears is her sobbing. "Sam!" He repeats. "I see a green ball of light!"

Sam stops and through her tears sees a blurred greenish flicker down below. She smiles weakly.

"Sam! Tucker!" Danny calls out, his light getting brighter and bigger as he flies nearer to them.

Cupping one of his hands to his mouth, Tucker yells back, "We're here!"

Danny enlarges his orb of light toward where Tucker called. He sees his friend and speeds up.

"Are you all right?" Danny anxiously asks after reaching him.

"Man! You gave us a **real scare** just now!" Tucker answers, shielding his eyes from the bright light. Then half-smiling in relief, he adds, "And, dude, I want you to know right now that you need to skip the milk shakes when we get back to the _Nasty Burger_!"

"What?" Danny replies, confused. But then he turns his light to another sigh of relief he hears a little further below.

"Sam?" He utters. Then alarmed at what he sees, he blurts out, "Sam! Are you all right? You're crying!"

"No, that's just sweat," She lies, smiling unconvincingly. "We just experienced a real horror show. Can you get us down from here and we'll explain to you what happened?"

He grabs each of his friends and floats down. When they get to the bottom, they exit the door and reach the other, larger passageway so that they have more room to sit and talk. As Danny listens, he is speechless while they relay their harrowing ordeal. All they and he can do is hug each other tightly.

"You are the best!" Danny stammers. But then, suddenly aware of how open they were with their feelings for each other just now, they briefly fall silent with embarrassment.

Finally, Danny utters, "We obviously can't go up, er, at least I can't go up."

"That's right! You can't but **we **can!" Sam announces triumphantly. "Maybe there'll be a way out up there. You said you saw a door, with light coming out from under it."

"But there might by nastier stuff when we get there!" Tucker points out.

"Tucker's right, Sam. Who knows what other traps Skulker has in store for us, I mean, me."

But she insists, "But we can't stay here! It's our only option."

Before they can decide, the ground under them begins to shake violently again. Feeling like they are in a snow globe, Danny is still able to snap Tucker up, but not Sam, who is jerked past them.

"Sam!" Danny screams. Unable to keep his balance even in the air, he yells between the rough shaking, "We've…got to… get to a… safe area, now!"

"How….ah!... about that…yeow!... narrow passage….uhhh!... with the ladder?" Tucker suggests between jolts.

"Great idea!" Danny agrees and he makes them both intangible and flies right through door and deposits Tucker on the ladder. His voice still quivering from the outside vibrations, Danny commands, "Stay here! I'll get Sam!"

Tucker nods to the grayish black shadow, as Danny immediately leaves him to look for Sam.

The violence triples as Danny frantically searches and calls for Sam. This proves to be hazardous at best, because he cannot keep his light lit with all his bouncing off the ground or walls. "She's got to be here somewhere!" He yells out to the ruckus.

Suddenly, the familiar piercing scream of the Fenton Crammer's warming up and then activating pounds Danny's ears. He shrieks above the din, "Sam!"

He finally spies her…in the ghost leech goop again, but she isn't moving. He flies as fast as the quaking will let him.

"Sam?" He calls, and when she doesn't answer he panics, "Sam!"

He pulls her out the gunk, goes intangible to fully free her of it, and starts to fly toward Tucker. But the flight is full of turbulence and because he's cradling Sam in both of his arms and cannot use his light, he cannot see where he's going. _"Back to the goop!"_ He decides and glues himself to it, making sure to keep Sam out of the stuff and close to him.

At long last, the noise, and then the trembling, stops.

He goes intangible and lifts both himself and Sam out of the sludge, and begins to steer toward the door, or at least toward where he thinks Tucker is. But then he slows to a stop, and hovers, thinking_, "I can't just be flying blindly in the dark like this, even if we're intangible. I might fly right into the ghost shield somewhere ahead and drop Sam. And I can't just sling her over my shoulder to light the way. She might be badly hurt."_ He decides to land instead. But before he can put her down and attempt to locate exactly where the door is, Sam groans.

Danny draws closer to her face just as she raises her hand to cradle her bumped forehead. But she misses her head in the process and smacks Danny right in the face.

"Oww!" He yells; and her whole body screams in response, and almost falls out of his arms because of it.

"Danny, don't ever do that to me again! Ouch!" She moans, reaching again—and this time locating—her forehead. She can feel something wet on it.

"Well, at least, you're all right, aren't you?" He puts her down gently and charges up his hand to check her over. He gasps when he sees her head wound. "Sam, you're bleeding!"

"I am?" She says, inspecting her head with her hand again, and then looking at the results. "Thank goodness! The last thing I remember was slamming into that ghost goo creature again. And just the thought of having that slime on me again, eeyewww!"

Danny chuckles a bit, relieved that she is indeed all right. "Well, we can't have you oozing all over the place, either!"

"Oh, well, you're right," She says as she nonchalantly reaches down to her remaining stocking and rips a piece from it. "These are no good, anyhow."

But before she touches her forehead, and now that her head is finally clearing, she jolts at the thought, "Tucker!..."

"…is okay," Danny says assuredly, completing the sentence for her. "He's in the 'ladder room'."

She sighs with relief and begins to dab at her wound. But then Danny puts his hand gently over hers and completes the task. They smile silently at each other.

Satisfied with the first aid, Danny says, "It looks a little better. Let's get back to Tucker. I'm sure he's worried sick!" He scoops her around the waist, lights the way, turns them both intangible, and phases through the nearby door to the ladder room.

Tucker jumps at the sudden burst of light coming out of nowhere. "Arrgh!" He yells, blinking and shielding his eyes. Then when his eyes adjust, he spies Sam and frets, "You're bleeding!"

"It's all right, Tucker. I think I'll be okay," She assures him with a voice that is so gentle he is taken by surprise.

"Good!" He also softly responds.

Then suddenly, his eyes brighten just as he remembers what he was waiting to tell them as soon as he had seen them. "Hey, guys! When there was a whole lotta shakin' goin' on—sorry, couldn't help myself—I could hear the same great big screaming noise the crammer makes when it's firing coming right through the wall behind the ladder. I wonder if that's where the main control and stuff are for the crammer. Maybe if we can somehow get to it, maybe we can tap into it or stop it or something."

"It's worth taking a stab at!" Danny replies, growing his wulf claws. Then chuckling, he adds, "Sorry, couldn't help myself either!"

Danny punctures the wall and shears a hole large enough for them to get through one-at-a-time. Squinting their eyes from the bright light coming from within, Danny puts only his head through and peeks in. Encouraged by what he sees, Danny excitedly says, "There **are** lots of wires in there! This has to be the brains and guts of the Crammer."

"Okay. The 'brains and guts' thing was way too much information for my taste!" Sam objects.

Tucker excitedly urges, "So, let's go!"

They each squeeze through the hole, one-at-a-time. Tucker immediately sees a place where he can "hack" into the wiring with his PDA and sets to work, while Danny and Sam look around.

"Hey!" Sam announces, pointing to what she noticed. Danny looks to where she's pointing but Tucker continues to pound on his PDA. She continues. "Up at that corner of the ceiling! There's a door up there! It must be the one we saw from the ladder and this room must be where it was opening to!"

Since everything, of course, is still painted black, and the ceiling is very high above them, Danny has difficulty finding the door at first. Looking up a little more carefully, however, Danny finally makes out the black door Sam pointed to. "Then we have to be careful," He insists. "No telling if this place is booby-trapped, too!"

No sooner than he said that than a shadow flits past him. "What is that?" He utters.

"What was what?" Sam asks. "I didn't see anything!"

Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense goes off and he instantly charges up two energy balls. Searching all around, he thinks he sees another shadow, but it, too, is too quick for him to track it. Just as he aims at what he thinks is still another shadow, he hears Sam scream. He reels quickly around just as she is enveloped in blackness. Then Tucker yells and Danny swings around toward him, and frets as he sees his friend, who has dropped his PDA in the attack, also being swallowed into total blackness. Hesitating on what to do, the young hybrid is momentarily caught off guard as he, too, is lifted and surrounded by, not total darkness, but hundreds of vampire ghost bats.

"ARRGGHH!" He yells, immediately blasting through some of the mass. But their combined strength press in on him and he begins to feel their painful bites. Suddenly, he hears the panicking muffled screams of Tucker and Sam and he concentrates with all his might and his entire body turns dangerously cold. The resulting wave of frozen energy engulfs the mass around him and with another yell, he charges his ecto-energy, which bursts outward, completely destroying the bats.

One by one, he carefully aims his eyes at the entity surrounding each of his friends. He thrusts a freeze ray onto each mass and follows the attack with a more precise beam of his ectoplasmic energy rays which ooze the substance harmlessly away from Sam and Tucker.

Flinging the goo off of her, Sam, who is gasping for breath, still manages to blurt out, "If I even so much as see jello again…."

Chuckling a bit and knowing that Sam is OK, Danny quickly flies over to her and makes her intangible so that all the goop slides off of her.

"Thanks, Danny," She says, still slightly irked at the experience.

He then flies over to Tucker, who is still coughing for air. Helping him up, and also making him intangible to get all the gunk off of him, Danny anxiously asks, "Are you all right?"

I think so, dude, but what about baby?" He rushes over to his PDA and cradles it, then inspects it. "Just a teensy-weensy little scratch, but I think you're OK." He quickly hooks the device back to the control panel and begins to punch on the keys again.

Looking at him and then at each other in amused disbelief over Tucker's reaction, Danny and Sam inch up to him and watch his progress over his shoulder.

"Where did those things come from anyway?" Sam whispers to Danny.

Danny looks around and now sees that the ceiling is not black anymore, but white. "Way up there. On the ceiling. That's why we didn't notice them at first and why my ghost sense didn't go off right away. If you and Tucker had gone on without me as we first planned, and had come through the door, you would have been swallowed right up immediately, and since I would still be at the bottom of the ladder on the other side, I wouldn't have been able to help you."

They look at each other at what that would have meant and then silently turn back to Tucker.

After several minutes of the sound of punching buttons, and with Sam and Danny's scrutiny of any other random sounds in the room—just in case- Danny asks Tucker, "Well, what do you think?"

"I'm onto something," He murmurs, not looking up as he continues to tap on the buttons. "Just a few more seconds and…"

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, the PDA starts to glow and shake. Smoke pours out of it. Before the threesome can react, the PDA emits a huge jolt of electricity onto each of them. They scream in pain and all fall to the floor, stunned.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Uh, Ditto! Thanks for sticking with me, all you wonderful fans!!! Hope you're still enjoying the story! Here is Chapter 8.**

A Mini Review—Chapter 8

Danny is the first to rouse. "Uh, what was that?" And then with sudden panic, he looks toward his friends and calls, "Tucker? Sam!" He relaxes and immediately flies toward them when he sees them stir.

"What was that all about?" Sam moans, as Danny floats above the both of them, and grabbing each of their hands, helps them to their feet.

"I don't know," Tucker confesses, but then he notices a change. "But I think my feet are getting bigger!" He looks at his friends in surprise.

Danny examines himself, too, and he sees that his feet are also getting bigger.

Sam also notices her metamorphosis and exclaims, "This is great!"

"No, it's not!" Danny emphasizes. "We're still **inside** and if we continue to grow, we'll destroy the crammer—not to mention how much that'll probably hurt as we're bursting out—and then we won't be able to change anything or anybody that was shrunk by those two goons back to normal!"

Sam, reflexively shaking her arms at her sides in panic and emphasis, frets, "Then what can we do? The ghost shield is still all around this thing, so you can't phase us out of this mess!"

"I know what to do!" Tucker says triumphantly, pointing to a large sign that has an arrow pointing to a contraption with the word 'Ghost Shield' under it. "And why didn't I see that before?" He hooks up his ever trustworthy PDA to the machine and starts punching.

"Hurry, Tucker, hurry!" Sam demands as their growth accelerates.

"I'm trying!!" He yells back, frantically pounding on his PDA. Suddenly, another jolt of electricity, though much smaller than the one the threesome had sampled, is spewed onto Tucker's PDA and it sputters out.

"Oh, no!" Tucker laments. "I don't know if I shut down the ghost shield!"

"Well, we're about to find out!" Danny announces, quickly scooping up his friends and turning them all intangible, supersonics desperately upward, as their size is quickly cramming the crammer. As they race toward the outer wall of the gun, they all close their eyes, hoping against hope that there is no impact….

"Tucker, you did it!" Danny exclaims, just as they regain their full size outside of the Fenton Crammer.

But Tucker is not listening. Instead, he is sadly looking down at nothing in his palm.

Sam looks at Tucker's chagrined expression and his hand and asks, "What's wrong?"

He spreads the hand he was looking at fully, revealing the extremely tiny and dead PDA, and sniffs, "My poor baby! She never failed me, and I failed her!"

Not having the least urge to tease him, Sam pats him on the shoulder and softly says, "She **was** the best. I know it'll be hard to replace her, but one day, you'll be able to get another one."

He smiles weakly at her and says, "And just how can we do that when we don't know where we are?"

The trio looks around and they can see that they're in some kind of lab, and, fortunately, alone. They also see that the Fenton Crammer is plugged into a wall unit.

"Don't know and don't care!" Danny comments. "I'm just glad that the Crammer is still intact and, of course, that **we're **still intact!" And looking at both of his friends, he adds, "And thanks to you both, **I'm** still intact, too! I know I couldn't have gotten out of that thing without you!"

"Anytime, dude," Tucker says with grin. But Sam, trying to suppress a slightly embarrassed smile, merely nods in agreement.

Finally, Sam says, "Uh, you know, we could be anywhere; we have to look for some clues of where we are."

Tucker sees something in the distance and moves away from the both of them as Danny counters, "No, we don't! I think we need to check out where Skulker and Technus are, and what they have been up to."

"But, if we don't know where we are, then we won't be prepared for them," Sam retorts, forgetting her earlier embarrassment and crossing her arms. She is ready to defend her case.

"And if we don't know where **they** are, we won't be prepared for them!" Danny counters back.

"But, **they **know where we are and we don't. **They** will probably end up here again, because the Fenton Crammer is still here," She parries, leaning toward Danny while still keeping her arms crossed.

Lifting his index finger, Danny admits. "Uh, good point." Then turning his head slightly, he continues, "What do you think, Tuck…? " And then both he and Sam notice that Tucker is not next to them. "Tucker?" He repeats.

A loud ruckus behind them answers them. Danny quickly grabs Sam, goes invisible and turns toward the noise.

It is Tucker rummaging through a nearby closet.

"Tucker!" Both Danny and Sam yell, just as they rematerialize.

Tucker screams in response.

"What are you doing? We don't have time for this! We have to find out where we are!" Danny objects, throwing a 'you win' look at Sam.

"But there are lots of cool Skulker-like stuff in here, and….Yes!" He produces another PDA!

Sam counters, "But you don't know what kind of stuff is on that one. And it probably belongs to Skulker!"

"That's OK. I can always reprogram it. Right now, though, it's payback time, Skulker!" He hugs this PDA with his face.

Seeing that Tucker is satisfied with his prize, Sam announces, "OK, now, let's get going!"

Bewildered, Danny asks, "What do you mean?" She throws him a 'you win, too!' look.

Danny smiles, unplugs the Crammer, grabs it, gives it to Sam, Tucker grabs his PDA, Danny grabs Sam, Sam grabs Tucker and then they all soar up into the air, becoming intangible before they fly through the ceiling.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Skulker and Technus are returning to the lab, which in reality is Axiom Lab. They, of course, are arguing.

Shaking an accusatory finger at Skulker, Technus chides, "**You **were supposed to bring the Crammer!"

Skulker crosses his arms in defiance, and scoffs, "It needed to be recharged, you dolt! If you weren't so much in a hurry to reduce everything in your path right away, we would have plenty of juice and still had plenty of time to charge it when we were finished! Besides, I save my best shake up for last, just to rattle that Ghost Boy who's still trapped inside!"

"Why don't we just get rid of him all together?" Technus replies. "I don't like having him around at all! He's still a bit formidable even though right now he's not physically formidable."

"Are you saying that my traps aren't good enough?" The ghost hunter challenges.

"No. I'm saying that we shouldn't underestimate him no matter his size!"

Skulker looks confident in saying, "A hunter never does, which is why I'm certain he's done for inside the Crammer."

They finally get to the entrance of Axiom Lab and head toward the room where Skulker had left the Crammer to be recharged. Skulker approaches the table where he had put the device, only to find that it is missing.

"I'm sure I left it here!" The cyborg ghost insists.

Pointing to the open closet, Technus snidely says, "Looks like some little mouse got in here! Perhaps it's **our little mouse**?"

"It can't be? But how?" Skulker blurts out, racking his brain and really talking to himself. "I don't believe it! All the city's been reduced to smaller than an ant's size. No one's left big enough to do this!"

"Well, I believe that the weapon's gone, so believe that he's got to be out!"

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, Skulker smiles. "Well, then, the hunt just got better!"

"Oh, brother!" Technus laments, throwing his hands up and rolling his eyes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Ditto! It's time to update!! Here is Chapter 9. Enjoy!**

A Mini Review—Chapter 9

Meanwhile, Danny, Sam, Tucker, the Fenton Crammer, and the PDA are flying through the air. Sam looks back at where they have been and then scans all around them. It becomes very obvious very quickly that there's nothing but open field as far as the eye can see.

Bewildered, Tucker asks, "Just where the heck are we?"

"You guys need to pay more attention!" Sam chides. "We're still in Amity Park! That was Axiom Labs we were in. The bad guys must have shrunken everything else!"

"Then we'll just hafta unshrink them!" Danny exclaims. A few moments later, he sees a large bunch of bushes below and flies downward toward them.

Tucker observes, "That's great, dude, but what do we 'unshrink'? We don't know where Amity Park's Amity Park is! Well, except for Axiom lab!"

The young hybrid deposits his friends and the Fenton Crammer behind the bushes and says, "That's true, but first, we need to get our bearings. Stay here. I'll scout ahead."

In the meantime, and little do the three teens know, Skulker and Technus have left Axiom Lab in search of the Crammer and the one who took it. Scanning the horizon with his binoculars, Skulker spies Danny hovering over a bunch of bushes. However, he does not see Sam and Tucker who are on the other side of the bushes, looking up at Danny while the trio discusses their plans.

"And when you find something, if there is something to find, what are we going to do then?" Tucker continues.

"I'm not sure", Danny admits, "It'll depend on…"

But he is interrupted by a shower of red plasma blasts. He quickly dodges them and continues, this time yelling, "Oh, man! But I bet they know! Stay hidden, OK? And no matter what happens, don't let them get the Crammer!" He turns invisible and soars away from his friends.

Looking to Sam for an answer, Tucker whines, "And how does he expect us to do that?"

She frowns slightly, trying to think of a quick plan. She hurriedly suggests, "C'mon, Tucker, we'd better get out of this area. These bushes are too thin." Then pointing the way, she adds, "There are denser bushes to hide under over there."

Then examining where they are, Tucker retorts. "These aren't bushes, Sam! They're _**trees!**_ This was Central Park!"

Sam now gets excited over a plan that finally pops into her head. "Then, the rest of the city can't be far. C'mon!"

Lugging the Fenton Crammer, she begins to sprint toward the city. Then she stops short, and because he is right on her heels, Tucker runs into her.

"Sorry!" They both say at the same time.

And Sam adds, "But we'd better walk! We don't know where all the buildings, or the people, may be!"

They walk gingerly, hunching close to the ground and searching frantically. Finally, they see the edge of the tiny city. Sam looks a little ahead and sees, among others, a miniature two-story home. "That's my place!" She exclaims. "C'mon, Tucker, let's start making everything bigger again."

"You mean 'uncrammed'?" Tucker corrects her.

"Please, Tucker, I'm not in the mood for dumb sounding names!"

Sam flips the "uncram" button, sets the first building in her sites and shoots it with the ray. It immediately swells to its original size, and the people inside cheer them on. But the force of the shot is too much for Sam and she is thrown several feet backward.

"Maybe you should let me do that!" Tucker volunteers, helping her up and grabbing the Crammer. He quickly—and easily—begins to uncram all the buildings in the vicinity. Blowing the fumes from the top of the ray gun after finishing, he closes his eyes, smiles in self-satisfaction and quips, "After all the exercise I had in the Crammer and just now, looks like I'll be eating all of Danny's fries!"

Sam surveys the restored buildings, using her mental map of the area. "Something's missing!" She announces, as she examines the ground in different areas.

"Well, of course. There's _**a lot**_ more missing! We haven't finished uncramming the entire city. And speaking of that, we need to keep going… I'm getting to be a real expert at firing this thing!" He holds the gun on his hip, 'Rambo' style.

Scrunching her face in frustration, Sam protests, "No!" I'm talking about this area! Something's missing here!"

They immediately survey the area. Then Tucker finally laments. "Casper High! It's gone!"

"And so is Danny's house!" Sam yells.

"We'd better go find Danny and tell him!" Tucker insists.

"Danny!" Sam gasps, finally realizing that he's been gone much longer than he should.

* * *

As she speaks, Danny is in the midst of a fierce land and air fight with Skulker and Technus.

Quickly eluding Skulker's ray blasts, again, Danny focuses his own green beam on the cyborg ghost's weapon and blasts it out of his hands. A counterattack by Technus is also thwarted.

"Hey, you look different, Ghost Child," Technus blurts out, regaining his footing from Danny's last attack and quickly shooting back at the boy.

"You would too, after being shrunk and then unshrunk. It's kinda like having all your insides pulled out and then crammed back in," He answers, dodging the rays easily.

"That is way too much information for me!" Technus answers, firing more blue ectoplasmic electronic waves at Danny. The teen quickly renders them useless with his ice rays.

But then Skulker snares Danny with a green ghost net. Instantly, Danny breaks free.

Now it's Technus' turn to try again. But before he can fully muster his next assault, Danny repels him with a huge ball of ectoplasmic energy from both of his hands, sending the mullet-haired ghost far away.

Skulker counterattacks, but Danny materializes an ecto-shield, which refracts the ghost beam back at the older ghost. The force of the ray—hitting Danny's shield and striking Skulker—sends both of them several feet backward from the impact site.

Finally, with the return of Technus, all three regroup, ready for round two.

Shaking his fist at Danny, Technus threatens, "OK. No more 'Mr. Nice Guy'!"

"You've never been a 'Mr. Nice Guy'!" Danny dryly retorts, floating near the two ghosts. Then sounding a little bored, he crosses his arms and sighs, "Geez, don't you guys ever learn? You can't even come up with anything original to throw at me! That is so 'old school'!"

Just then, Skulker and Technus laugh.

Danny, bewildered, remarks, "It wasn't **that **funny!"

Technus looks at Skulker and smiling wickedly, pulls out something from his pocket. Placing it on the open palm of one of his hands, he shoves the thing toward Danny with a finger of his other hand. At first glance, it looks like a large pea.

Danny, reflexively sliding his hands to his stomach, laughs, "Oh, now **that's** original! What are you going to do? Attack me with a peashooter?"

Technus then picks up the 'pea' with his index finger and thumb so that Danny can get a better look at it.

Upon closer scrutiny, Danny gasps when he sees that Technus is not holding a pea after all. It is the miniature school!

"And I'm going to give you 'double-trouble', Ghost Child!" Skulker snickers, presenting Danny's tiny home for Danny to see.

Danny gasps again and knows that he is now in their control.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ditto! Thanks for all the reviews...I really listen...And now a milestone: this is my first story to get past nine chapters! Yeah!! OK, no more blathing!! It's on to Chapter 10!! Enjoy!!**

A Mini Review—Chapter 10

"One false move, and they're history! School. History. Get it?" Technus snorts, holding the small building between his fingers like a pinch of salt. Danny can hear the panicking screams coming from the jostled school.

Danny rolls his eyes at Technus' comment, and groans, "Oh, brother."

"And that goes double for me," Skulker adds, dangling Fenton Works high above the ground.

"All right! All right! You've got me!" The ghost boy concedes, throwing his hands up in gesture to let them know that he has given up. "Now, just put them all down and I'll do anything you say!"

Danny, letting his guard down, lands near where Skulker and Technus are. The cyborg ghost immediately flies up to his prize and cuffs both of his hands with some very familiar shackles.

"Now, that's more like it, prey!" He sneers. But he doesn't put Danny's home down. Instead, he cups it in his hand.

"Hey!" Danny protests. "That's not fair!"

"We never said we agreed; we just got to you first!" Skulker adds. "Besides, we can still use these trinkets for insurance." He waves the little house in front of his victim in triumphant.

Danny silently chides himself. _'I've got to pay more attention to these things!'_

"And the fact that you somehow escaped from all those traps in the Crammer means we can't trust you either." Technus chimes in. "And speaking of it, we want that back, too!"

"But I don't have it!" Danny says in half-truth.

"I bet your pesky little friends have it! What are their names? Sam and Tucker?" Skulker taunts.

Danny glares at him and, this time, lies, "They're in the school like everyone else!"

"No matter," Technus retorts. "Then you'll have more reason to get the weapon for us." He whips out the school and shakes it a bit.

Danny glares at him as well and, lifting his bound hands up, remarks, "And just how do you expect for me to go look for it? These cuffs cancel all my powers, remember?"

"That's true!" Skulker admits. "Then you'll just have to look the hard way." 

"And take forever!" Danny insists. "It's not like I can just hop on a bike with my hands like this!" He emphasizes his point by tugging on the cuffs.

Skulker turns to Technus and says, "He has a point..."

"Now, wait a minute!" Technus protests, and then seeing that Danny is "all ears", suggests, "Let's go over there a minute and discuss it."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the meantime, while the three ghosts are 'discussing their plans', Sam and Tucker finally return from the city. They duck behind the bushes, er, trees again, but this time they are on the other side from where Danny had originally left them off. They can easily see Danny and the other two ghosts from their hiding place.

"Now what?" Tucker whispers to Sam. "We can't shoot them because Danny's too close and we might hit him."

Sam quietly counters, "But then we'll have a big advantage, if you know what I mean! And Danny will, too, though, of course, in a smaller capacity." Then grabbing the Fenton Crammer, she takes aim at the group in front of her and Tucker.

"Wait, Sam!" Tucker warns, pushing the muzzle of the gun down. "Danny has handcuffs on. I bet they're the same kind that cancelled his powers before!"

"How do you know that?" She asks, laying the Crammer down on the ground.

Tucker smirks slightly and raises up his PDA in answer.

Waving her hand in concession and frowning, Sam complains, "OK! OK! So now what do we do?"

"I don't know!" Tucker admits, and they both turn back to watch the ghosts.

Suddenly, Sam places her hand over her mouth, silencing her gasp as she sees Skulker waving the little house in front of Danny. She grabs Tucker's arm and hurriedly whispers to him, "Wait a minute! What's that in Skulker's hand?"

Tucker strains to look and utters, "I can't see anything!" And then squinting a little more, he exclaims, "It looks like Danny's house! Or else, it's the smallest and ugliest piece of sculpture on the planet."

"Well, that's a good description," Sam dryly quips.

But then, they look at each other in fear. All they can do for the moment is wait, and hope for a chance to do something soon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Skulker and Technus continue to argue on what to do next. Even though they stepped away from Danny to discuss the matter 'privately', they aren't particularly subtle and their conversation can be clearly heard.

"But we can't just let him go! No telling what he'll do," Technus protests.

"But we have our hostages. I'm sure the Ghost Child doesn't want to see any of his friends or family, let's just say, become our new 'toys'."

Still unconvinced, Technus insists, "I don't know."

His partner suggests, "We can give him an ultimatum! If he doesn't cooperate, it's all over for everyone he cares about. And being "all over" I mean getting rid of them painfully and slowly."

With his characteristic whiny voice, Technus says, "What's with you and this 'painfully and slowly' stuff? 'Getting rid of them' means simply that, short and sweet. Anyhow, I still don't like any of this… And, besides, is **that **the kind of ultimatum we're going to give him?"

Cupping his cuffed hands against his mouth, Danny calls to them in answer. "No matter what you decide, you're going to have to give me time. I don't know where the Crammer is."

Technus, immediately drawing his arms up in protest, utters, "Hey! No fair! You were listening!"

Danny answers him with a shrug and a mischievous smile. "I never agreed I wouldn't!"

Skulker marches over and yanks Danny upward by the collar. Pulling the boy up to him so they are eye-to-eye, the older ghost counters, "You got out of the machine, and so you must know where it is!"

Danny's demeanor changes radically and, now irritated, he retorts, "Do you think I was interested in hanging around it after what I went through getting out of it? For all I know, it got broken in the process."

Technus replies, "No matter. We—er, I mean, Skulker—can fix it once you get it back to us."

Skulker, still holding Danny, again growls in his face, "OK, Ghost Child, we'll give you some time. Three hours to be exact. And you already heard what our 'ultimatum' is!" He then throws Danny down to the ground.

Technus is quick to object. "Why is it always the 'three hours thing'? Why not, uh, I don't know, just give him just one?"

"Oh, all right, then. One hour!" Skulker agrees.

"Gee, thanks," Danny moans.

"You're welcome!" Skulker sneers and then picking Danny back up off the ground by the handcuffs, rights him roughly back to his feet. Danny groans with each jerk.

"Now, Ghost Child, remember we have your family and friends. And remember, one hour." He quickly removes the cuffs and jumps away from Danny, 'covering' his retreat with Danny's home in the site of one of his weapons. Technus also takes a threatening stance against the school, just in case Danny should try something.

Danny, quickly rubbing his wrists, resists the temptation to blast the two older ghosts, especially since he might hit his home or the school by mistake. He turns and soars away, saying to himself, _'OK. This isn't going well. And I can't let them on to the fact that Sam and Tucker are over there in those bushes or else it'll get worse. I'll just casually fly this way for awhile and double back to get them when I can.'_

But Danny is not aware that Sam and Tucker are tracking him as he flies away from them, too far for them to call to him and too far for him to know that they are not where he left them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Oooh, I do love reviews! Thank ****you all**** for your thoughts. I really listen. Now, I'm posting Chapter 11 a little earlier than I planned, at the special request of and in honor of Angelus-alvus, who has stuck with me through thick and thin—from the very start! I thank you, my friend, for all your encouragement. AND I also appreciate each and every one of you wonderful readers out there who, I hope, are enjoying this story and appreciate DP as much as I do. And special thanks to Pearl84. I think about you every time I'm editing. Your insight is priceless! Did I blather enough? Sorry! Now, hope you enjoy Chapter 11, and, of course, ditto!**

* * *

A Mini Review—Chapter 11

As Danny flies toward whatever direction he picked 'cause he has absolutely no idea where he is, or where he's going, he keeps searching, scanning below and beyond for any clues about anything. Finally the teen sees something on the horizon, and blurts out, "Hey, what's that ahead?"

He increases his speed and can see the outlines of the restored city buildings. He utters, "Sam and Tucker have been here! Good work, guys!…But, oh no, then, **where** are **you?**"

He continues to search, but this time for Sam and Tucker. He is soon frustrated. "Man, I never knew how big this city was until now. It's as if it just popped out of nowhere!... Well, actually, it **did** just kinda pop out of nowhere!"

Then a wild idea hits him. _" 'Pop?' That's it! Now if I can just find Sam and Tucker before my hour is up, I think we can get through this mess! But first…"_

He flies to Tucker's house and turning intangible, glides into Tucker's bedroom. "Now, if I were Tucker, where would I put that thing?" He quickly goes over to Tucker's computer and sees what he wants in the corner right next to it. He chuckles, both with triumph in finding it and in knowing his friend very well. "Can't be too careful protecting your techno stuff, right, Tuck? I'm so glad I loaned this to you. If it were where it ought to be, it would be totally useless to me now!" He then spies one of Tucker's backpacks, gets another idea, checks its contents, smiles, and also brings it along.

Returning to the air, he resumes his search for Sam and Tucker. He tries to think what his friends would do. _"Hmm, Tucker would….probably… want to unshrink more of the city…And Sam?..."_ He smiles at the thought. _"…She would want to find __me__. So, let's just see if both of them have headed back to where I left them…" _ Then his thoughts shift. '_Can't be too careful_, _though. So, better make sure the two goons don't see me while looking.' _He turns invisible, heads back toward the bushes—that is, Amity Park Central Park— and continues his hunt.

Meanwhile, Sam and Tucker are silently discussing what they should do next. They hunch down further when they see Technus and Skulker float closer. The two ghosts are now blocking their safe path to their original point where Danny had first left them.

"But how are we going to find Danny if he doesn't know we are no longer in the place he left us?" Tucker quietly whines.

"I don't know…Let me think," Sam whispers, more convincing herself than Tucker. "But in any case, let's get out of this area for now. I don't want those two ghost jerks sneaking up on us should we get too loud."

"Sounds good to me!" Tucker whispers back.

They see that the cover is good in another direction and head to another set of bushes much further in the distance, a place they decide is good enough so they can talk without being detected.

As he looks around again, Tucker groans, "**These** aren't bushes, either. They're the trees at the picnic area of the _Floody Waters_ water park!"

Lightly shaking one of his shoulders with slight irritation, Sam says, "Get a grip, Tucker! We haven't unshrunk the rest of the city, remember? We're bound to come upon all sorts of tiny features of the city until we can get rid of the bad guys! Now, let's think about our next move, okay?"

"Okay," Tucker answers, calming down. "Maybe we can shrink Skulker and Technus and then get the school and Danny's house from them?"

"That would be a good idea, if it weren't for the fact that then the school and Danny's house would be even **smaller **and still in their pockets."

He cringes at not having a good enough plan, and then remarks, "Well, it was just a thought."

* * *

And as his friends try to figure it all out, Danny, still maintaining his invisibility mode, nears where he left his friends off in the first place. He can see Skulker and Technus beyond the miniature trees and close to where Sam and Tucker were dropped off, and changes his speed so that it is now a slow flight. He glances downward, scanning the ground below for Sam and Tucker. He sighs quietly when he sees that they're gone.

Thinking to himself, he says, "_Well, I was kinda hoping you two would still be there, but then, where could you be? Maybe Tucker won and they're unshrinking more of the city."_ He wonders if he should double back that way, toward another part of the city. He glances down at his watch. "_Oh, no, just fifteen minutes left! I just hope they are there, uh, wherever 'there' is!"_

He turns and before he increases his speed, he glances downward again. Just as it looks as if his luck wouldn't hold out, and with the bushes blocking his full view, the teen notices an unusual reflection near the ground. _"That's odd! There are only certain things that make that kind of signature reflection and those things are gizmos that could have only been made by Mom and Dad! Sam and Tucker are down there!"_

He silently speeds downward. He is upon Sam and Tucker before they notice, as they are still engrossed in their plans.

Both of them scream when Danny nonchalantly comments, "So, there you are!" before materializing.

"Danny! You scared us half to death!" Tucker yells.

"Well, I am half a ghost!" He smirks.

They growl and Sam says, "It's not funny, Danny! The school and your family are in danger!"

"Sorry. You're right, Sam! But I have a plan that I think will work! But first, here's your backpack, Tucker. I hope you don't mind that I checked in it to make sure it had what I wanted in it."

"Aw, sure, dude," Tucker replies, bewildered, and then slips his backpack on. He quickly notices how feathery it feels after trying to carry Danny, and utters, "Man! I never realized how light this backpack really is!"

Danny grins at his friend's hint and says, "Yeah, I bet! And by the way, I'm swearing off milk shakes!"

Tucker grins back. "That's okay, dude!"

Danny smirks a little, and then, being a little more serious this time, adds, "But in any case, it's good to know that I can always depend on you in being prepared, Tuck!"

His friend smiles at the compliment; and Danny then proceeds to fill them in on his plan. Then at the end of his explanation, says, "We all know what to do, right?"

His friends nod in agreement and brighten a little, hoping that his scheme will work.

"But are you sure no one will get hurt?" Tucker can't resist asking.

Danny looks understandably at his friend, and replies, "There's always a risk, Tuck, but I think the risk is more as long as Skulker and Technus have them."

"All right, then, let's do it!" Tucker announces and immediately hooks up his PDA to the Fenton Crammer.

In the meantime, Skulker and Technus are loitering around and bored while waiting for Danny to return.

"How long has it been?" Technus whines.

"That's the hundred and twenty-sixth time you have asked that question!" Skulker complains. Then looking at the gadget imbedded in his arm gear, he announces, "He has five minutes and thirty-nine seconds to return here."

"That's too long!" The mullet-haired ghost wails. "How can you stand all this standing around doing nothing?"

"Technically, we're floating. But, anyway, a hunter knows how to wait and wait patiently."

"But I'm no hunter! I'm the 'Master of…" Technus begins his spiel, only to be nipped in the bud by Skulker's "Oh, please!"

"Well, I'm bored!" Technus objects. He picks up the school, inspects it, and then starts to shake it. The inhabitants immediately scream hysterically as they are tossed about in the process.

"Stop that!" His partner demands. "Hunters do not return damaged goods!"

Still examining the small school, and hearing the hysterical screams within, Technus moans, "I said I was no hunter! And why did we have to shrink all the electronic gadgets in our mad rush to conquer the world?"

"Uh, the 'we' and 'our' would be '**you**' and '**your**'!" Skulker corrects him. "All I wanted was the Ghost Boy!"

"Whatever, then, 'we-ish'!" Technus concedes, and then putting the school back in his pocket, adds, "Anyhow, when we finally get the Crammer back, we can uncram some of those gadgets and then use them to rule over the shrunken world!"

"And do what to them?" The cyborg ghost argues. "So far, everything that has been shrunk is totally useless! What are we going to do with a conquered world the size of a pea?"

"Well, I don't know. Use a peashooter? In any case, we're still the biggest things around!"

"Us, and that Ghost Brat!"

Technus smiles wickedly. "We can fix that once he's got back with the crammer. And then we unshrink the electronic stuff I need to rule the world!"

"You mean **us**?"

"Yes, erm, us! You know how carried away I can get!"

The Ghost Hunter rolls his eyes in response.

Just then, Skulker sees a slow flying figure headed their way. He whips out his binoculars to check what it is. "Speaking of the Ghost Brat, he's coming!" Skulker announces and then adds, "And he's holding something behind his back!"

Both of the older ghosts snap to attention. When Danny is close enough to hear them, Skulker checks his watch and smugly replies, "Back in time, I see! And you have the weapon?"

Danny, with one of his hands still behind his back, nonchalantly says, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do! So, I won't keep you waiting much longer! And I just wanted to let you know that I've changed my mind!"

Confused, the cyborg ghost asks, "About what?"

"About kicking your butts!" Danny yells. The young hybrid immediately charges up a baseball size ball of green ectoplasmic energy, and then whipping out the 'Fenton Creep Stick' from behind his back, tosses the ball of energy in the air, and hits it with the bat, driving the ball squarely into Technus. The force of the blow pummels that ghost to the ground.

Danny doesn't hesitate with the next round and quickly bulls-eyes the Ghost Hunter with the same tactic. Skulker lands roughly to the ground face first, plowing a trench as he finally slows to a stop.

Now both of the older ghosts are incensed. They quickly recover and pull out their captive buildings. They hold each of the buildings high in the air, threatening to throw or squash them between their fingers.

Danny gasps and then, smiling, cries, "That's what I was hoping you would do! Now, Tucker!"

At that precise moment, two rays in rapid succession hit the school and Fenton Works, blowing them back up to their normal size at a speed that was much more rapid than usual, thanks to Tucker's alterations.

The sudden size and weight of each of the fully restored buildings crush Skulker and Technus under them. The two older ghosts groan momentarily and then phase through their respective buildings in a counterattack.

Tucker pushes a button on his PDA and then immediately fires two more rays in rapid succession at them, reducing them to the size of, well, ants. Skulker and Technus look at each other in shock and then upward at their conquerors.

"Bye, guys!" Sam cheerfully announces as she quickly activates the Fenton thermos, compliments of Tucker's backpack, instantly sucking the two mini-villains into it.

Now secured in the thermos, Technus suddenly smiles and remarks, "Hey! For once, it's very roomy in here!"

"Oh, shut up!" Skulker sulks.

Turning invisible, Danny flies over and grabs his friends. Then quickly turning them invisible as well, he flies away just as the inhabitants of the school and Danny's family file out of their buildings, dazed but unhurt.

After reaching another—and still small—part of the city, Danny and his friends land.

"Great work, guys!" Danny happily says.

"You didn't want to hang around back there and get any of the glory, now that you saved everyone?" Sam asks, fishing for Danny's reason for leaving so soon.

"No, I didn't even think about that! Remember, my parents were back there! I'm sure they would have shot first and probably never asked questions!"

"You're probably right!" Tucker agrees, then remarks, "Now that everyone's okay, all we need to do is uncram the rest of the city…" And when his stomach suddenly growls, he adds, "…and **cram** my stomach to the brink!"

Placing one hand on Tucker's shoulder, Danny laughs, "There is more than enough time for that!"

"And don't forget that you need to return the school and your home back to their original locations," Sam reminds him.

A slight chuckle in his voice, Danny replies, "Yeah, but I might want to wait until our next school break. I could sure use the extra sleep I will get now that my house is right next door to the school!"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: All stories need to come to an end. Sniff. Here is the Epilogue. Enjoy, and, oh, ditto!!!**

A Mini Review—Epilogue

The next morning, a very refreshed Danny and his friends are walking down the hallway of Casper High.

Stretching, Danny smiles, "Man, I feel great! All that wonderful sleep!"

Sam and Tucker are not as happy as he is. When he notices that, he remarks, "What's wrong with you two?"

"We had to get up earlier to get here, remember, now that the school is so much farther from our homes?!" Sam complains, yawning again.

"Oh, come on, guys! I'm usually the one who gets sleep-deprived from all that ghost-fighting!"

They are unsympathetic as they approach their lockers. Danny opens his and objects, "Hey! Who's been in my locker?"

"What's wrong?" Tucker asks.

"My mirror was higher than this and now it's lower!"

Tucker opens his locker and looks. "Hey, my mirror is lower, too!"

Sam doesn't open her locker or say anything.

Noticing her response, Danny asks, "Aren't you going to look at your locker mirror, Sam?"

"I don't have one," She dryly remarks. Then she perks up when she notices what her friends hadn't as of yet. "Come here, guys," She says, pulling them into the nearby 'life skills' room.

"Do you know how tall you are?" She quizzes.

"Uh, well, uh, tall!" Each of them lies.

"Yeah, yeah," She humors them as she grabs a nearby measuring tape. After putting it up to each of them, she shows them the results.

"I don't believe it!" Danny stammers, as Sam gives him the tape to measure her.

"Sweet!" Tucker chimes in. "We're both two and a seven-sixteenth inches taller!"

"Uh, three inches," Danny corrects him.

Tucker continues. "Well, yeah, close enough! Anyway, all that cramming and uncramming must have jumbled up our growing molecules or something!"

"How about you, Sam?" Danny asks.

Swinging her arm across her chest in disappointment, Sam gripes, "Darn! Only an inch taller!"

Just then, Dash comes up to the threesome holding onto several books. He's about to place them, as usual, on Danny's head, when he does a double take. "Hey, Fenton, you look different!"

"Yeah," Danny says, standing fully erect up to Dash. He's delighted that this time his eyes are at the mid-point level of Dash's nose. Overconfident in this, Danny dares, "Looks like you'll have to find another place to put your books!"

Dash does not hesitate to trip Danny, causing Danny to fall to his knees. Dash then casually places his books on top of Danny's head and smirks, "Nope, just have to lower the boom!" He snickers, picks up his books, and leaves.

"You asked for it!" Sam says unsympathetically, helping him back to his feet.

Smiling mischievously, Danny remarks, "Yeah, I guess I did, and just when I thought things were looking up!"

His friends groan, and they make their way to their next class.

THE END!!

**Well, I hope you liked it! I want to thank you again for your kind reviews, especially Angelus-alvus, DPcrazy, Nicktoons Squad, Crazyvi, Pearl84, Cute in pruple, Thunderstorm101, and Nightshadow 24!!!! I had immense fun writing this, and thank you all for taking the time to read it. Please look for my next story, "His Own Worst Enemy", which will start tomorrow!! It's a brand new story that popped into my head a few weeks ago and has been pushed up ahead of my other planned stories. And it is full of drama and suspense, and, of course, action, with a smidgeon of humor! (And for those who don't know, I ****can**** write drama! I just rather stick close to the theme of the Nick shows, because I love that style, so that is why I have all the quirky humor and action in most of my stories!) But, if you don't mind my blathering, I think you will be very surprised by my next story. Thanks again and hope to see you later!! truephan**


End file.
